title: High-power mid-infrared frequency comb source based on a femtosecond Er:fiber oscillator.
abstract: We report on a high-power mid-infrared (MIR) frequency comb source based on a femtosecond (fs) Er:fiber oscillator with a stabilized repetition rate of 250 MHz. The MIR frequency comb is produced through difference frequency generation in a periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal. The output power is about 120 mW, with a pulse duration of about 80 fs and spectrum coverage from 2.9 to 3.6 μm, and the single comb mode power is larger than 0.3 μW over the range of 700 nm. The coherence properties of the produced high-power broadband MIR frequency comb are maintained, which was verified by heterodyne measurements. As the first application, the spectrum of a ~200 ppm methane-air mixture in a short 20 cm glass cell at ambient atmospheric pressure and temperature was measured.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4242, USA. zhuf@physics.tamu.edu
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hundertmark
authors.forename: Alexandre A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kolomenskii
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strohaber
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holzwarth
authors.forename: Hans A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Schuessler